I heard this from somewhere (Probably Iron Chef, the OG Japanese one), so I’m bound to butcher something here and there. That said:

The top three Gourmet Chinese Foods are in no particular order: Shark Fin, Bird’s Nest, and Dried Sea Cucumber. When all properly reconstituted and cooked, turns to flavorless gelatin like mush. All about texture, and having tried 2/3 (bird’s nest I haven’t had), I agree that I can live without any of them.

Oh, and the main point of my post, which I had forgotten, is that Asian people in general likes Status over anything else. And this includes where I come from, which is in the general vicinty of China.

I don’t think you’re being culturally insensitive at all- this needs to be said A LOT MORE! And by many more apathetic Chinese people who probably feel the same but don’t speak up. We all need the ocean to be healthy for the sake of the planet and the ocean will die without top end predators like sharks. Well said

I was just talking to my two Chinese parents about this. We all agree, shark’s fin soup tastes bland. The fancy restaurants ought to just start tossing gold flakes into the fish ball soup and call it a day.